Durant leads Thunder over Bryant-less Lakers 118-78

It only got worse from there for Los Angeles.

Before drubbing the Bryant-less Lakers 118-78 on Saturday, Durant reflected on Bryant’s impact on him as a professional.

But Durant became less talkative surrounding his dinner with Bryant on Friday night in Oklahoma City.

“I’m sure it didn’t help”, Bryant said.

In the second period, Kevin Durant mesmerized the crowd with a fancy dribbling display before he drove to the middle and scored on a slick layup.

“The Lakers will continue to represent what they’ve always represented”. Their win-loss record, an atrocious 4-23 with a winning percentage of only.148, is the worst in franchise history at this point in a season.

“I just took it in and I said, “Rob, I don’t rule anyone out, but it has got to be based on performance because there’s so many people who want (to be on the team); everyone wants to be on the roster”.

Anthony Brown, you’re not alone. That included spinning around Lakers forward Julius Randle on a baseline drive that he finished off with a dunk. His first came a little more than 3 minutes into the game to cap an 8-0 Thunder run. He found Steven Adams for a handful of alley-oop dunks, taking advantage of the lack of resistance inside.

“I just hope he doesn’t ask for his autograph”, Scott said of Brown guarding Thunder F Kevin Durant.

“That’s not something I’m pressing for, but being part of the Olympics is such a attractive experience”, said Bryant, before reflecting on his childhood in Italy. “Come out ready and focus on what we need to focus on and do our job”.

If Bryant were content to play a more secondary role on the Lakers, both he and the team would arguably benefit. “It just looked like we were in awe of that team”. After tearing his left Achilles tendon in April 2013, Bryant returned in eight months for six more games before needing season-ending surgery on his left knee. Mike Conley added 20 points and eight assists as the Grizzlies snapped a two-game skid.

Nuggets Kenneth Faried on Kobe Bryant: “He’s a legend of my time”: Kenneth Faried was 7 years old when Kobe Bryant was drafted and traded to the Lakers on Wednesday, June 26, 1996.

This is unfortunate timing for Bryant, who’s been playing by far his best basketball of the season over the last two weeks.

The Lakers rookie point guard got teed up during the Lakers’ 107-87 loss to the Rockets for leaving the bench to celebrate Bryant’s dunk over Houston’s Clint Capela, the Los Angeles Times reported. It’s hard to hold it against him when he has played in the league for 20 years.

The soreness was in the same shoulder in which Bryant suffered a torn rotator cuff last season.